why am I gaining weight?

abbyljstraughn
abbyljstraughn Posts: 1 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
hi there! My name is abby and I’m new to using my fitness pal. Back during the start of Covid I lost around 60 pounds but during these times I’ve gained around 20 back. I’m trying now to loose 30 pounds and finish my weight loss journey but I’ve seem to be having more trouble now then I did before. I’m on a slight calorie deficit of 1,700 calories and I’m eating really well but I seem to be slowly gaining weight and I don’t know why? Is it because some days I have a hard time eating because I’m so busy so some days I eat around 1,400 calories and other days I eat around 1,700? Is it because I’m not consistent with the amount of calories I eat in a day? I’d love some help!

Replies

  • tomcustombuilder
    tomcustombuilder Posts: 2,229 Member
    It’s your overall weekly calories that matter. Inconsistent daily amounts don’t matter much. If you stall for 3 weeks you need to lower your overall calorie amount
  • Lietchi
    Lietchi Posts: 6,846 Member
    tomcustombuilder wrote: »
    It’s your overall weekly calories that matter. Inconsistent daily amounts don’t matter much. If you stall for 3 weeks you need to lower your overall calorie amount

    Or for (menstruating) women, better to look at a full menstrual cycle, just in case of hormonal water weight fluctuations.
  • TDFbound
    TDFbound Posts: 4 Member
    1700 calories per week is not much of a deficit. I'm a 6'3" male, and my BMR is around 1950 calories per day. Even for me, a 1700 calorie diet would only result in 1 lb of weight loss every 2 weeks. If you're about the same size as me, you'll reach your 30 lb weight loss goal in April of next year. If you're smaller than me, your deficit is going to be even less- without knowing more about you, I'd guess your deficit is likely only 100-150 calories per day max. A 150 calorie daily deficit will take you 700 days to reach your goal. So, if that's what you're working with, it will be extremely easy to overeat if you don't track literally everything. Even a couple gummy vitamins can be like 30 calories, a piece of gum can have 5-10 calories, etc... that deficit can be gone in no time flat. Aim for a 500 calorie daily deficit if you want to lose 1 lb per week, or 1000 calorie deficit if you want to lose 2 lbs per week. Obviously you're not going to be able to get good nutrition if you're only eating 500 calories per day, so you'll need to supplement a proper nutritional diet with exercise to make up the rest of the deficit.
  • PAV8888
    PAV8888 Posts: 14,259 Member
    TDFbound wrote: »
    1700 calories per week is not much of a deficit. I'm a 6'3" male, and my BMR is around 1950 calories per day. Even for me, a 1700 calorie diet would only result in 1 lb of weight loss every 2 weeks. If you're about the same size as me, you'll reach your 30 lb weight loss goal in April of next year. If you're smaller than me, your deficit is going to be even less- without knowing more about you, I'd guess your deficit is likely only 100-150 calories per day max. A 150 calorie daily deficit will take you 700 days to reach your goal. So, if that's what you're working with, it will be extremely easy to overeat if you don't track literally everything. Even a couple gummy vitamins can be like 30 calories, a piece of gum can have 5-10 calories, etc... that deficit can be gone in no time flat. Aim for a 500 calorie daily deficit if you want to lose 1 lb per week, or 1000 calorie deficit if you want to lose 2 lbs per week. Obviously you're not going to be able to get good nutrition if you're only eating 500 calories per day, so you'll need to supplement a proper nutritional diet with exercise to make up the rest of the deficit.

    The spirit I like.

    But you lose weight because of a deficit from your TDEE; NOT your BMR (or RMR since most sites are using Mifflin these days)

    As a 6ft 3" male I sure hope you burn more than 1950 Cal a day.... hopefully closer to the "typical" / "average" / mythical male 2500 Cal a day...
  • MsCzar
    MsCzar Posts: 1,071 Member
    I too lost weight during the Covid shut-down. I felt effortless while staying home. I was able to set my own schedule, exercise consistently, and most importantly - weigh and measure every morsel that crossed my lips. Then work resumed. Uh oh! The weight began to instantly creep back.

    You said you were busy now. Perhaps you are too busy to weigh and measure all your food now? I know when I am at work, I can guesstimate that restaurant sandwich or that breakfast muffin, but it's easy to low-ball the calorie counts or forget eating something completely.

    1700 calories is maintenance territory for me. Aiming at 1700 with a few forgotten or underestimated foods can easily send the scale in the wrong direction.

  • ridiculous59
    ridiculous59 Posts: 2,908 Member
    MFP lets you look at your daily average calorie intake over 7 days and as long as it's within your chosen amount, it's okay. I don't believe it really matter if some days are high and some low.

    Be aware that you're not burning as many calories at this lower weight as when you were heavier. It takes more effort (calories) to move a large object, than a smaller one. So it's possible that 1700 calories may be too high, now that you weigh less? Make sure you weigh and measure your food accurately and don't be afraid to make adjustments along the way.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    There are mistakes that people commonly make that cause them to not lose weight that we might be able to spot if you change your Diary Sharing settings to Public: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/account/diary_settings
  • tomcustombuilder
    tomcustombuilder Posts: 2,229 Member
    What is your height and weight?

    Don’t base your calories on other peoples anecdotal amounts. Everyone is different and have varying activities, steps per day, etc. A bigger person my have a more sedentary lifestyle requiring fewer calories or maybe they are just underestimating their calorie intake.

Categories